Hell yeah! I'd make offerings to that!
And the little gold statue thing is kinda cool, too.
Posted on 03/20/2006 8:28:15 PM PST by killjoy
A man described to be mentally-deranged hammered the much-revered statue of Pra Prom or Brahma creator god at the Hyatt Erawan Hotel and reduced it into pieces before he was lynched to death.
A garland vendor said she saw the man standing up on the base of the statue and hammered away the statue into pieces.
Only the part of lap and base of the statue were left intact. Its head was broken and fell off to the ground. Officials put up white cloth to hide the statue.
The man, who was later identified as Thanakorn Pakdeepol, 27, was assaulted by people near the scene and died about 50 metres away from the Pra Prom shrine.
The garland vendor, Wandee Wichai, 42, said she saw the man hammering the statue at 1 am and she shouted for help.
"I've been selling garlands here for 30 years but I've never seen this man. He appeared like a mad man while hammering Pra Prom," Wandee said.
The man fled but was later caught up by some taxi drivers and people started to beat him up.
Pol Maj Gen Krissasda Phankhongchuen, deputy metropolitan police commissioner, said the man, who suffered severe injuries on his head, was barely alive when police arrived at the scene, which was on the opposite side of road from the Police Hospital.
He said police later arrested two garbage collectors and found an iron bar which one of them used to beat the man.
His father, Sayan Pakdeepol, told police at the Lumpini Police station that his son had been suffering from depression since he was conscripted into military service when he was 21 years old.
Sayan said he talked to his son at about 8 pm and he left home, which was in the same neighbourhood with the shrine, at midnight. The father said he had not heard from his son after learning that he was killed.
"My son arrived home at 8 pm and went to bed. I went upstairs to his room to give him cold drug but he appeared angry and threatened to harm people in the house," Sayan said.
"He left the house ad midnight and I don't know where he was so I called 191 police to inform them for fear that he would assault other people."
Although Brahama statue belongs to a Hindi god it is much revered by Thai Buddhists and Buddhists from other Asian countries who flocked to the statue to pay respect and ask for blessing.
Foreign tourists also like to visit the shrine to see traditional dancers, who were hired by those had seen their wishes come true, perform.
Wow. That's messed up. What's wrong with people. Wonder if the guy was a muslim.
Yeah, watch what happens if you make fun of the king!
I'm up for a foreign service job, Bangkok and Chiang Mai are going to be my first two choices if I get it.
And the little gold statue thing is kinda cool, too.
I was going to say, "Hey, I know her!" But thought maybe that would be tacky.
Good plan.
It does help remind me why I'm addicted to them.
I heard a story about a fellow who stepped on a 20 baht note to keep it from blowing away in the wind. Word is he got his throat cut. Jungle legend?
Oh No! Not The Four Faced Buddha of Good Fortune, who am I going to pray for money the next time I'm in BKK? ... Seriously, this is terrible new, I'm bummed. I know people who'd go visit this shrine as their first order of business whenever in town.
Probably a legend.
But, don't ever make fun of the king and queen.
One of his top aides once called him "skipper" in public when he was wearing a captain's cap on a boat. He nearly lost his job, it was very humiliating.
And in theatres, you best stand at the start of the film when they play the national anthem.
Thailand is odd, women can't dance nude in a bar, yet, you can purchase them from the bartender for the night.
That and elephants walking down the streets in Bangkok make it a surreal place.
I love it, I usually hang at Cheap Charlie's, a "bar" consisting of a 10 foot long by 3 foot deep bar in a parking lot against a building. Cheap beer and always about 50 expats there every night.
BINGO! Post 21.
Do I win a prize or somethin'?
Well, the muslim area is close to that shrine, about a 5 minute walk to Sumkumvit 3.
I love Thailand, love the people, but damn, I understand what will get you in trouble over there.
Same goes for Vietnam, but add in Uncle Ho, don't joke about Uncle Ho, just don't.
these give some good background on the meaning of this place:
http://www.erawanbangkok.com/shrine.php
and
http://www.erawanbangkok.com/myth.php
ps:
I 'own ' the domain
www.erawan.net
;^)
nothing there really , just a little thing I made long ago .
It keeps some other nit-wit from getting the URL
Bangkok is always a transfer point for me, to Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia. I've seen the shrine but never paid much mind to it.
That is pretty close to the shanty town that I once walked through just down Sumkumvit past Wireless road.
Bangkok always amazes me, its so huge, but you never know what you will find around each corner.
On Suk Soi 11, yes?
Looked for it last time I was there (staying at the Grand Prez), but couldn't spot it for some reason.
We ended up in that German beer garden presumably nearby, but not my taste.
A Thai worker measures the Hindu shrine of Brahma, which is draped in white sheets, after a statue within it was destroyed in central Bangkok.(AP)
BANGKOK: A mentally-ill Muslim smashed a landmark Hindu statue in central Bangkok, worshipped by people of many religions, and was then beaten to death, police said on Tuesday.
Thanakorn Pakdeepol broke into the shrine housing the four-faced statue of Brahma, venerated by Hindus as the creator and to whom people prayed for anything from a child to winning the lottery, in the early hours of the morning, they said.
He then used a hammer to smash the statue, which has drawn tourists from around Asia to the shrine beside the five star Erawan hotel.
"After a scream from a street vendor shouting our father was destroyed, I saw three or four men arresting that man and beating him up," taxi driver Somyos Srikamsuk told Channel 3 television. "He was unconscious, but still alive when police got there." Two cleaners of the shrine were arrested and charged with murder, Police Colonel Supisan Pakdeenarunart told the television station.
Thanakorn, 27, had been in and out of mental hospitals over the past 10 years, said his father, Sayan.
People who believed the statue had granted their wishes offer gifts, with carved wooden elephants the most popular, and pay for Thai classical dances, making the shrine a lively spot.
A sign at the shrine says it was built 50 years ago to protect the Erawan hotel because the foundation stone was laid on an inauspicious day. - Reuters
Why doesn't that surprise me?
Isn't that just like the muzzies.
The guy got free mental health treatment, which completely cured his depression, and now they complain.
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